Haldeman Center planned

Published May 17, 2004; Category: ADMINISTRATION

Gift names academic center for interdisciplinary work

A $10 million gift from Barbara and Charles E. "Ed" Haldeman Jr. of Haverford, Penn., will name a new academic center at Dartmouth. A member of the Class of 1970 and a Dartmouth trustee-elect, Ed Haldeman is president and chief executive officer of Putnam Investments, a Boston-based mutual fund company.

Ed Haldeman

In making the gift in honor of his parents, Charles E. and Betty Jane Haldeman, Haldeman noted, "Neither of my parents was able to go to college, for economic reasons. But they had hopes, as did so many Americans of that generation, that if they worked hard their children would be able to attend. This gift recognizes what they did for me, and what other parents are doing, even today." The Haldemans themselves are Dartmouth parents: a daughter graduated with the Class of 2003, and another will enroll this fall.

"Education at Dartmouth is a collaborative enterprise," said Dartmouth President James Wright. "In bringing these three academic programs together under one roof, the Haldemans' gift takes the concept of intellectual collaboration to a new level. The programs will be able to pool resources, share insights, and work jointly on common initiatives. The benefits to the College community and the undergraduate experience will be profound."

The Haldeman Center will be integrated with a new mathematics building, Kemeny Hall. In addition to advancing the interdisciplinary missions of the three academic institutes, the Center will provide conference space. When classes are not in session, conference programs will have use of six "smart" classrooms on the lower and first levels of Kemeny Hall.

"One of Dartmouth's distinguishing characteristics is its intimate scale, which facilitates interactions among students and faculty," said Dartmouth Provost Barry Scherr. "To nurture those interactions, and to promote greater collaboration among programs, we've been conscious of the need to create spaces that are efficient, flexible, and welcoming. The Haldeman Center embodies those qualities."